Christopher Byford - Den of Stars

The coachman himself was well suited and groomed and gripped the reins, steering the animals through every district before them, the passing streets of Windberg transforming from wealth to starved to decadent and back again. The horses’ pace was never quick enough to encourage those behind to rush.

The river of bodies trickled to the city limits, spilling into a parasol-laden procession that moved into the desolate waste beyond. Stone was replaced with sand, the dawn sun lingering low and yet to fully show its radiance and heat. The desert was unkind and uncaring, forcing the people to move around boulder and thorny bush as they followed the main rail line north that would lead through a gorge and out into the Sand Sea itself. The coach trundled along the surface, the horses maintaining their composure at all times.

Still the band played and the feet marched.

Behind, an army of well-wishers made their way, following the northern train line from the grand city of Windberg northwards. Here, miles out from the city itself, the track ran into a canyon, its deep, steep sides sheltering such transportation from the harsh elements. The land began to ebb down the rail line flanked by steep cliffs of marbled stone, eroded by a combination of harsh wind and time. Soon the shy sun was hidden away by the formation, long shadows painting canyon walls in gloom.

From this turn and that, following the snaking contours, finally they arrived at their destination. The music stopped. Nobody spoke. The coach was immediately brought to a halt.

Before them, up ahead and squatting at the side of the track were the remains of the once proud Gambler’s Den.

The locomotive had slipped the tracks during its escape from both the law and the lackeys of a criminal. This, coupled with its engine exploding, left it as nothing but wreckage.

But the Gambler’s Den was no mere train. It was a legend in the east of Surenth. Its appearance formally announced with a cryptic banner, promising plenty and encouraging a fever of wanton speculation. Nobody knew what the Gambler’s Den actually was, except for those who had listened to the stories from other places about a wonderment that proudly rode the tracks across the Sand Sea.

Occasionally someone who had entertained drunken stories might have dismissed it as being just a train, but it was just a train as much as the sun was just a star and the unenlightened were informed as such. The only way your opinion mattered was if you were once in its presence, if you drank from the well of pleasure that it proffered. Anything else was speculation or outright lies.

When word reached the city of Windberg that the Gambler’s Den was in the throes of some dramatic escape from bandits, they assumed that the accompanying Bluecoats chasing were en route to protect it. So the story went at least. Some of the papers ran stories that differed, daring to suggest that there were other factors at work, the most prominent being the notion that the Den was up to no end of dishonest pursuits.

This was incorrect. Caught up in a whirlwind of blackmail and downright bad luck, its owner, one Franco Del Monaire, had intended to escape both parties.

The state of the train was heartbreaking. The Gambler’s Den had been reduced to a charred shell. Its boiler and innards had been flayed by an uncontrolled surge of pressure, causing an explosion. Flues were outstretched like metal spider legs. The chassis was warped from the heat, forcing the remains to slouch at the trackside after being moved and the line itself had been repaired. For those who saw the Gambler’s Den during one of its spectacles, it was difficult to take in.

The people parted as the coachman performed his duty, climbing down and opening up the door. He invited the individuals to join them, with all surrounding the vehicle silent in reverence.

Seven women took the steps from their carriage, flat shoes landing in the sand, forming a procession. They wore complementary outfits, similar in appearance though with significant nuances to set them apart. Each outfit was the colour of emerald, with mustard and black trimming over the plunging necklines, collars and hems. They were beauties each, quite well versed on finery and pageantry, a trait unshaken despite the morbid circumstances. Tall stood alongside short, black and blonde hair alongside shocks of ginger. All held their nerves in check and restrained tears that were bubbling dangerously close to the surface.

The last to step out was a man, nowhere near as finely dressed but still on the right side of smart. His face was ghostly, clearly suffering from little sleep and troubling vices. His first steps were unsteady, corrected with the awareness of the score of onlookers, though he drew less attention than the women themselves. His clothes were creased and scruffy, tossed on with little care – one would assume, and correctly so.

With a few reassuring gestures from the most senior among them, the women began the last of their journey with the man bringing up the rear. They all moved to the head of the ensemble, dresses, coats and scarves trailing in the subtle breeze that had picked up from the Sand Sea, as if it attempted to nudge them each to reconsider their movements. Some of the women held hands, clasping tightly to one another for comfort.

The sun had risen higher now and its heat was beginning to bear down. They were not to speak, as was the tradition of these things. Others spoke on their behalf and in this instance, a short, stocky man – dressed in a grey pinstripe suit and round hat – had been hired for the occasion. He had no need to check his pocket for the folded notes, elaborating on the schedule, the involved names, or circumstances for all of these were already committed to memory. The number of people didn’t intimidate him, for he was a professional and excelled in his craft.

Taking himself to the head of the procession he raised his arm for everyone’s attention. It was given without hesitation, unabated by the gravitas of the proceedings.

‘We are here to celebrate, not to mourn! It would be easy to be sad at a time like this, but this is not the way things were done aboard the Gambler’s Den. Appropriately it is not what will be done today,’ he called loudly.

The unkempt man between the women rolled his eyes, reaching for an absent hip flask.

‘What occurred here was a tragedy on a grand scale. When the wheels of the Gambler’s Den stopped spinning, the shock pierced many a breast. No one could have fathomed such a disaster to occur on the outskirts of our home. Those on board were innocent victims caught up in the blight of criminality that rots away and troubles our virtuous people, at the very soul of our fine city. Yes, it was a tragedy! The papers spreading discord with their falsities, but I can tell you now with the word of the law beside me, those on the Gambler’s Den did no wrong. Those among us, the family of this fine performance piece, have lost two of our own.’

Among them the city sheriff, Alex Juniper, swelled beneath his deep navy tunic. His reasons for attending were his own, for he was not a fan of the ruckus the Gambler’s Den brought to the city – far from it in fact. Upon its arrival he sought to have it impounded, given that some on board were fraternizing with criminals, but this obligation bore quite a different outcome. The catastrophe resulted in ensnaring a much grander prize – with help of one of the Den’s own.

Juniper made occasional observations of the faces within the crowd, looking for any sign of someone attempting to disturb the proceedings out of malice. In particular he stole glances at the haphazardly dressed man nestled within the envelope of women. He in turn noticed and stopped frisking his jacket for a drink.

The announcer spoke the names with utmost esteem, his booming voice proud and weighty.